How To Do Archery

Test out several archery bows at your local store. Find a bow that you are strong enough to bend, but just barely. You want as much spring in your archery bow as possible.

There are five parts of an arrow: The point is at the tip of the arrow. The shaft is the main rod. The crest is where the rod begins to thicken. The fletching is where there are typically three flaps of Styrofoam, or other such archery substance. (One of these flaps will be a different color than the rest.)

There are several different types of arrows available. For an archery beginner, you should get arrows with a blunt point. As your archery skills improve, you can look into getting arrows with various sharp points. There are many different styles available for whatever archery situation you will be in.

Find a place with no chance of accidentally hitting a passerby. Decide upon a specific distance, such as starting at a range of 10 yards. Set up an archery bull's-eye. For your first target, you can just use a cardboard cutout with an archery bull's-eye drawn on. Make sure to draw in a vivid enough color to see it from the desired distance.

Grip the archery bow with your left hand. Place the arrow groove on the string, making sure that the different-colored fletching is facing away from you. Place your right index and middle finger on the string-on either side of the arrow.

Draw back the string as far as you can physically pull it. Your left hand will be gripping the archery bow handle, forming a fist. Raise your fist-with the archery bow-till you can see the bull's-eye just over the top of your hand. Take a deep breath. Let go. Make sure that your face is not to close to the string when you let go or you can get a bad case of rope burn!

Don't immediately drop the archery bow after you've taken a shot. Many times the arrow hasn't fully cleared the archery bow yet and you can impair the accuracy of your shot. Check to see where exactly in the target did the arrow enter. Use this information to adjust your stance in the next few shots. For instance, if you aimed directly at the archery bull's-eye the first time but the arrow hit a little too far to the left, the next time, aim a little to the right.